Agrihoods: Suburbia goes back to the farm

Chickens and crop fields are becoming must-have amenities in America’s suburbs, said Kate Murphy in The New York Times. Across the U.S., buyers are snatching up homes in developments that showcase farmland where a golf course might have been and farm stands instead of fitness centers. About a dozen such developments are currently in the works, from Kansas to California; roughly a dozen now-thriving such communities put down their roots before 2008’s market crash.

Agritopia Gilbert, Ariz. The organic farm at the heart of this 160-acre Phoenix-area subdivision supplies prominent local restaurants as well as a community farm stand. Amid the neighborhood’s Craftsman-style homes, “lambs caper in common green areas” and “chickens scratch in a citrus grove,” while residents “roam rows of heirloom vegetables to see what might be good for dinner.”

Serenbe Chattahoochee Hills, Ga. The 7-acre farm at this 152-home development has done so well that it will soon more than triple in size. It produces more than 300 varieties of produce available to residents and used at three popular on-site restaurants.

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Willowsford Ashburn, Va. This 3-year-old community outside Washington, D.C., has earned acclaim for pairing a 30-acre farm with a culinary consultant who teaches cooking classes designed to make the most of each season’s crop yield. Residents can buy products at a farm stand, and some even work the farm in paid positions.